Monday, November 28, 2011

The Pakistan Army has rejected regrets from the U.S. and NATO over the killing of 24 soldiers in Friday's deadly and attack on two border posts in the country's tribal region.
"The NATO strike can have grave consequences," the army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Monday.
NATO Secretary General Sunday expressed regret over the losses of Pakistani soldiers and supported investigation into the incident, which sparked angry reaction in Pakistan and the government closed supply line for foreign troops in Afghanistan.
"NATO regret over the killing of Pakistani soldier is not enough," military spokesman told the BBC Urdu language service.
"We think this is not enough and we do not accept it. Such raids have also been conducted in the past. Such attacks are unacceptable," General Abbas said.
He said Pakistani leadership will decide what more steps should be taken in reaction to the NATO strikes in Mohmand tribal region along the Afghan border.
The army says that NATO fighter planes and helicopters struck two border posts between the night of Friday and Saturday, killing 24 soldiers and injuring 13 others. Two officers were among those died.
NATO sources have claimed that its special mission had come under attack from Pakistani soil.
But the Director General Inter-Services Public Relations rejected the NATO claim and said NATO will have to tell if any NATO personnel died in Pakistani attack.
"It is ridicules to find out justification for NATO unprovoked attack through such notions," General Abbas said.
When his attention was drawn to the NATO chief statement that the strike was an accident, the spokesman said that it will prove after investigation is completed. He said the NATO representatives were informed when them started firing.
"The NATO representatives were told to immediately stop firing but the attacks continued".
"When our people were martyred and NATO continued more firing then Pakistani troops exercised its right of defence to respond to stop NATO attacks," the army spokesman said.
"Investigation will prove whether or not Pakistani fire hit them," General Abbas said.
The army spokesman that 72 Pakistani soldiers have been killed and nearly 250 injured in NATO strikes in three years.